


pandora's box

by hencas (ART3M1S)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Christmas time!, Height difference, Ice Skating, M/M, One Shot, Pining, and they were roommates..., bed sharing, does it count if it's a drunk confession?, drunken antics, hangovers are never fun but having johnny's ready to nurse taeyong back to health, johntae roommates, more jealousy, third wheeling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25711762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ART3M1S/pseuds/hencas
Summary: in taeyong’s eyes, he’s the one who loves taeil the most, so why the hell does he spend all his time with johnny?based on ch. 5 of 'entering the neo zone' (heartbreaker)a one-shot on the ordeal of taeyong's love life
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Moon Taeil
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: momo's responses





	pandora's box

**Author's Note:**

> soundtrack: good enough - jim-e stack, ant clemons // love will tear us apart - nerina pallot

“Johnny wait, no no no, don’t let go, _please_ ”, Taeyong heard from across the rink, gaze lingering on Taeil as he giggled up at Johnny, proudly displaying his frost-coated hands - the result of his latest spill - while the current object of Taeyong’s ire chuckled, loudly enough for him to hear from across the rink, offering a helping hand to his companion sprawled out on the ice. 

Huffing in annoyance, he turned over in his mind how the hell he had ended up being the third wheel on a date that he’d been looking forward to for weeks... _well... maybe_ Taeil didn’t exactly know it was a date... but that was the whole point.

Taeyong’s plan had consisted of attempting to teach his flame-haired companion how to skate, tumbling onto the ice in tandem, and ending up in each other's arms, where nose to nose the tension would build, and they would finally kiss - the perfect recipe for young love.

“Yeah, perfect plan that was” he muttered gloomily, skating in small circles while looking up at the sullen night sky, and rubbing his arms in a futile attempt to warm his body ( _and his heart_ ) from the chilly atmosphere he had inadvertently forced himself to endure for the remaining, _oh god_ , 45 minutes of the session. 

It wasn’t as if he’d cordially invited Johnny to come and crash his date, but when Taeil had arrived at his apartment ready to head to the ice rink together, Johnny had stumbled out of his room, groaning that he hadn’t socialised in weeks. And of course, Taeil had eagerly (and in Taeyong’s eyes, unnecessarily) extended the invitation to his broad-shouldered flatmate, leading Taeyong to his present predicament - being forced to endure smouldering caresses and coveted whispers between his two main tethers to the social world.

  
  


Taeyong and Johnny had begun their co-habitation out of mutual necessity. Taeyong had just gotten his big break as a stylist, and living in a big and bustling city definitely didn’t come cheap. So, like anyone desperate for another person to help pay rent, he reluctantly put an ad on craigslist: “25-year-old male, needs a flatmate to evenly split rent and utilities for a 2-bed apartment, no smokers, no pets”; desperately hoping the first response wouldn’t be from a stalker or a serial killer. 

So, when Johnny had turned up at his doorstep, hair slicked back with a confident smirk resting on his face as his eyes roamed over the interior of the modest apartment, he became Taeyong’s saviour in a sense. Days before his arrival the landlord had begun to double down on his threats to evict Taeyong. He had thought his big city dreams would be over just as soon as he’d obtained a taste of the life he had so desperately been chasing for. But Johnny had stepped in and put a stop to that, allowing Taeyong to finally live comfortably rather than paycheck to paycheck. 

Neither of them knew the town well - Johnny having impulsively packed up and moved, with this being the latest stop on his hop from city to city in a bid to “escape the relentless pressure of overbearing parents”; the explanation he’d muttered while unpacking a box full of kitchenware all over the worktop. So the Friday after Johnny had moved in, they decided to hit the town, stumbling down the high street which ended up as the setting of Taeyong’s speedy descent into love.

Barhopping with his All-American roommate had initially seemed a genius idea, a way for the two of them to lower their guards and build a radiant relationship that could maybe even lead them to a genuine friendship. But, after the 5th bar, and Taeyong’s 11th.. _wait no_ .. _12th_ vodka shot, he soon realised he was _way_ out of his depth. Taeyong had spent his early 20’s set on achieving his dream career, whereas Johnny, as a wandering solo musician had built up his alcohol tolerance to staggering heights, that had the older boy wondering whether he even _had_ a liver at this point.

Johnny, ever the social butterfly, had introduced him to a group of impeccably dressed friends who’d offered to buy them each a drink while Taeyong had run to the restroom when they’d arrived at the atmospheric bar. Walking up to the group, he was greeted with enthusiastic smiles, and subtle scrutiny, as their supposed new friends sized him up. “Well, who’d have thought we’d meet the most charismatic duo in this entire city“ Yuta exclaimed, clapping Johnny on the back as he turned to his sturdy friend, Jaehyun, who let out a charming chuckle at the two, and finally Taeil, who’d lightly lifted his gaze to meet Taeyong’s hazy line of vision with a subtle raise of his eyebrows, leaving him spellbound, like a child witnessing a magic trick for the very first time.

After more rounds than Taeyong could count in his inebriated state, he found himself slumped in a booth as the remainder of his cohort proceeded to tear up the dancefloor. Feeling a wave of nausea hit him like a ton of bricks, he sat up, dragging a shaky hand across his face and lightly muttering “Fuck..” as he tried to collect himself. With the room swaying in his attempt to get to his feet, he suddenly noticed the floor rushing up to greet him. 

“ _Shit_! Hey, are you good?” 

His gaze inched upwards, finally resting on a face donned with a worried expression, complete with furrowed brows and a frowning face. His mind scrambled to put together the words to thank the saint whose solid grip on his shoulders had halted his plummet. 

“Oh… uh… Taeil… thanks...” he managed to utter, trying not to fixate on the way the divine bar lights had seemed to cast a halo above his attractive companion’s tousled hair.

“Fuck, Taeyong! It’s okay, I’ve got him now, I can take him back to ours” Johnny interjected, slipping under Taeyong’s arm to take his weight from Taeil’s grip.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay getting him back on your own?” Taeil tentatively questioned, “If you need some help, I can let the guys know I’m heading back with you?”

“It’s all good. Honestly, it’s not far, we'll be fine.” he grunted as he marched his woozy comrade towards the exit, “I’ve got your number so I’ll text you when we’re home, safe and sound.”

  
  


Peeling his eyes open in his fragile state, as amber rays of sunlight cascaded onto his face, Taeyong rolled over in an attempt to gain more desperately needed rest.

 _‘Wait a second…’_ he suddenly thought. ‘ _My room never has direct sunlight… and these aren’t my sheets… this isn’t my bed...’_

Jolting up, he desperately spun from side to side, searching for some recognisable feature of the room he’d found himself in, while his stomach tossed and turned from the sudden movements.

He tried to think back on the events that took place last night, but his mind was simply drawing a blank. He recalled Taeil catching him - a highlight of the night in more than one respect - yet the remainder of the night was comprised of fragmented memories at the brink of Taeyong’s subconscious; close enough for him to know they existed, but too distant for him to know what had transpired.

The door was suddenly hurled open, and in stepped his athletic flatmate, hands full with two glasses of water and assorted breakfast snacks. “Damn, I didn’t mean to open it so hard, just… you know...” he remarked sheepishly, shrugging as best as he could without jostling the goods he was carrying.

The two of them spent the remainder of the day recounting the events of their (un)memorable night. Taeyong sat transfixed and horrified as Johnny recapped all that had gone on. The two of them had stumbled back into the apartment some time in the early hours of the morning, Johnny rushing to get him to the bathroom before he threw up. After thoroughly emptying the contents of his stomach, Taeyong had fallen asleep, cheek firmly pressed against the toilet seat. Johnny had attempted to carry his companion to his respective room, but Taeyong kept refusing, _begging_ Johnny to stay with him, not to leave him alone. Since Taeyong only had a single bed in his room, as opposed to the double size situated in his own room, it made sense for them to share Johnny’s, leading to Taeyong’s earlier disorientation.

He couldn’t believe he had made such a fool of himself, first with the most alluring guy he had ever met, then, maybe even worse, with the compassionate man he would be living with for the foreseeable future. Johnny was quick to reassure him with a snicker that he ‘ _really hadn’t been that bad_ ’, but he couldn’t find a way to relieve the waves of anxiety he was enduring after embarrassing himself on his first night out.

Taeyong had begged for Taeil’s number from Johnny, he needed to apologise for ruining his night and desperately hoped he would be able to find a way to make it up to him. After being nursed back to some semblance of his former self, he racked his brain for even a smidge of inspiration as to how he could redeem himself in the eyes of his newfound acquaintance. His revelation took form in a flyer that Johnny had stuck to the fridge; an outdoor ice rink was being opened in a couple of weeks for the Christmas holidays. Ice skating being one of the few sports Taeyong had some semblance of proficiency in, he texted Taeil a hurried message, stating: 

‘Hey Taeil, I just wanted to thank you for looking after me last night, ahaha, I’m honestly so embarrassed. Johnny and I managed to make it home safe and sound, and I feel a lot better this morning! :D 

I was planning on buying two tickets to the Christmas ice skating coming to town on the 17th, maybe you can come with me and I’ll make up for causing you so much grief that night.

This is Taeyong btw!’

He eagerly awaited a response from their delightful and fiery-haired associate, excitedly relaying his plans to Johnny who seemed more stoic than expected given Taeyong’s elation. Taeil responded back after a couple of minutes, affirming he’d be more than happy to go, and expressing how glad he was that the duo managed to get home safely.

Plummeting back to the present, Taeyong just couldn’t understand what it was that made Johnny so much better than him. Maybe it was the stately 6’0” stature against his own 5’8”, or maybe the fact that Taeil just seemed so much more comfortable around him, willing to cling and hang from him, when he could barely meet Taeyong’s eyes when they were alone together... but whatever it was, it had left the shreds of Taeyong’s heart melting in a puddle of misery.

“Hey, is everything okay... you’ve been staring into empty space for a while now” Taeil broached hesitantly, as he cautiously pulled himself by the edge of the rink towards Taeyong. “If you’re getting bored we can just head home” Johnny sighed, lulling his head side to side.

‘ _Of course I’m bored, all my plans have gone to shit, and now I’m being forced to watch the two of you practically make out’,_ Taeyong spat out internally.

“Yeah I’m fine, I’m just gonna go get a drink.” he muttered, setting off to glide across the rink, “I’ll be back in a bit...”

Reaching the inside of the adjacent building, Taeyong slumped down on one of the plush sofas and tried to compose himself. It wasn’t fair for him to dampen everyone else’s evening, he knew this, but he just couldn’t compel himself to act as if everything was fine, as if every part of him didn’t want to just break down and cry.

“You’ve been pretty distant all evening, what’s going on with you?” he heard a rough voice remark from overhead, while the sullen expression remained on his face as he peered upwards. 

“I said that I’m fine, just leave me alone.”

“You’re obviously not... look, dude, it’s obvious that something’s on your mind. You know you can talk to me… about pretty much anything.”

“Look it’s fine, you weren’t even invited, but _as per usual_ , you managed to make this whole evening about you!”

“Wait, Taeyong, what are you talk-”

"You know what, fuck you, Johnny." 

"Really, fuck me ?" he laughed, “So you can confess to me when you’re drunk, professing that I’m exactly your type, and I’m wonderful, and how fucking lucky you are that I came into your life, but when we’re both sober you act like you can’t fucking stand me?“

Taeyong abruptly stood up, sneakers scuffing the waxed floors from the speed he rose at, “What the fuck are you talking about?”, he shouted.

“You know what, fuck this.” Johnny muttered, dragging his hand through his hair whilst staring at the floor, “I’m going to stay at a friend’s tonight, make sure Taeil gets home safely… I’ll talk to you… fuck I don’t know… I’ll talk to you whenever.”

He briskly stalked off towards the building’s exit without a second glance, leaving Taeyong reeling with nothing but the dissonance of his thoughts to fill the silence of the vacant lobby.

**Author's Note:**

> s/o user: starlightdreaming for letting me toil over this mess


End file.
